Grand opera
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Keywords
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Reviews (2)
Presto classical
2022
By
2022
"After composing a spectacular series of grand operas for the Paris Opéra, Meyerbeer turned to two comic operas with spoken dialogue. One of these was L'Étoile du Nord (The North Star) ... The plot is a peculiar mixture of village wooing and military life, with music that is full of colour, featuring superb choruses and exceptional orchestration. This 1996 Wexford Festival Opera production features a dazzling young cast under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski".
MusicWeb international
2022 July
By
By
Nick Fuller
2022 July
"L'Étoile du nord is almost the forgotten Meyerbeer French opera. This is a welcome re-release of the 1996 Wexford production ... but it is not entirely satisfying; we are still awaiting a recording that reveals the brilliance of The Northern Star ... However, this remains the only commercial recording of L'Étoile, and the only fully theatrical staging ... The role of Catherine is sung by the American coloratura soprano Elizabeth Futral, at the start of her career. Her bright and elegant singing takes Meyerbeer's virtuosic vocal writing in its stride. Her Ronde bohémienne sparkles with malice; she is equally at home in the more sentimental or pathetic moments ... The others in the young cast are variable ... This is a live recording; the orchestra is clear and well to the fore ... but the singers (principals and chorus alike) are often some remove from the microphones, and can be hard to hear ... We need a studio recording".